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If all Americans are entitled their oft-quoted 15 minutes of fame, then Tony Denunzio has gotten far more than his fair share. And based on recent events, Denunzio’s unhappy dance in the public limelight is far from over.

Denunzio first burst into the consciousness of Santa Barbara’s civic minded public in October 2011 when city police officer Aaron Tudor deployed a degree of force to detain him at a traffic stop in the Loreto Plaza parking lot that shocked many of the witnesses for its intensity and violence. Police insisted at the time that Denunzio — who sustained a few broken ribs and was tased 13 times in the incident — was resisting arrest and that the level of force used was necessary and proportional. Strikingly, however, Santa Barbara District Attorney Joyce Dudley saw it differently and declined to file resisting-arrest charges against Denunzio. Similarly, Dudley declined to make excessive-force findings against the cops.

On May 11, city police booked Denunzio again for resisting arrest after fleeing from Harbor Patrol officers by the city’s waterfront. This time, the DA’s Office announced it will file felony charges against Denunzio for resisting arrest because in the ensuing chase, one Harbor Patrol officer fell and tore his bicep. That injury — quite painful — was serious enough to require surgery and time off for the officer to rehabilitate. Denunzio was booked into County Jail; bail was set at $20,000.

According to the narrative provided by Santa Barbara Police Department spokesperson Sgt. Riley Harwood, city cops responded to a call for assistance from the Harbor Patrol after Denunzio and his brother Dino Denunzio generated complaints from owners of boats docked in Marina 1. They’d gotten past the entrance’s locked gate by going in when a few occupants were coming out. They then stepped onto several boats for sale, generating calls of possible prowlers. When two Harbor Patrol officers braced the two, Denunzio ran and Dino stayed put. Efforts to catch Denunzio failed and at one point, one of the pursuing officers tripped and fell. That, reportedly, is how he sustained his injury. Harwood said when police officers arrived, Denunzio was in the parking lot by Marina 1. When officers threatened to tase him, Denunzio became compliant.

Police contend Denunzio and Dino were intoxicated at the time — one witness claims they’d been kicked out of a nearby waterfront restaurant just beforehand — though no blood-alcohol levels were taken. Darryl Genis, the attorney representing Denunzio in these matters, has questioned the accuracy of Harwood’s recitation. He said Denunzio had been out that night with his brother and that they’d been asked “to tone it down” at Brophy Bros. for getting loud and swearing. Genis said the Denunzio brothers then went into Marina 1 to look at a friend’s boat that was for sale. Police concede that their friend indeed has a boat, but noted that this friend’s boat is not located at Marina 1.

Genis said Denunzio panicked when a security guard “clicked” his Taser while asking them about their business. Denunzio reportedly asked the guard if he planned to use the Taser. He reportedly replied, “I might.” At that point, another officer showed up. When he also took out his Taser, Denunzio “did not want to get beat down,” said Genis, explaining one of the officers attempted to execute a foot sweep on Denunzio. “He said to himself, ‘I am out of here,’” Genis stated. “So he ran from him. He didn’t have to foot sweep Tony.” Genis added that his client thought the Harbor Patrol officers were private security guards not sworn officers.

Genis also suggested that the waterfront arrest and charges could be part of an effort by law enforcement and the DA’s Office to discredit his client, who is now bringing a federal civil rights action against the City of Santa Barbara in connection with the use of force for a traffic stop that they contended was never warranted.

Two weeks ago, Denunzio and Genis won a significant but limited procedural victory, when federal appellate Judge George H. Wu ruled that the forced blood draw taken after the takedown at Loreto Plaza from Denunzio — reportedly held facedown on a filthy floor with a deputy’s knee on his neck without an antiseptic swab applied to his arm — violated Denunzio’s constitutional rights regarding search and seizure. The defense sought to have Denunzio’s charges dismissed, and in his ruling, Judge Wu rejected that motion, meaning the case will likely go to trial.

As with many cases in which Genis is involved, the Denunzio saga has many twists and turns and an abundance of collateral melodrama. In response to the Loreto Plaza incident, the DA charged Denunzio with driving under the influence, driving with a blood-alcohol level of 0.8 or higher, and driving on a suspended license. The judge dismissed the second charge; the jury was hung on whether Denunzio was driving under the influence at all — eight thought he was, and four thought otherwise — and the DA declined to refile the charges. At issue again was how “erratically” Denunzio appeared to be driving on Las Positas Road on his way from the Boathouse restaurant and Hendry’s Beach, where he’d been drinking, to the parking lot by Gelson’s market.

Officer Tudor claimed the number of times Denunzio changed lanes — three — made him suspicious enough to initiate the traffic stop. When Denunzio got out of his vehicle — the protocol is for the driver to remain in the vehicle — Tudor issued a series of commands that Denunzio was slow to comply with. Eventually, Tudor would execute a leg sweep, kicking Denunzio’s legs out from underneath him, kneed him in the ribs several times, struck him multiple times with his open palm, and stunned him repeatedly with the Taser.

After the jury deadlocked on the Denunzio’s driving under the influence charge, attorney Genis exalted in his victory. “Humpty Dumpty, baby. All the king’s horses and all the king’s men will never get this one back together,” he said. The Santa Barbara News-Press also quoted him after the verdict had been rendered, stating of the prosecuting attorney, “I slit her throat and she doesn’t even know she’s bleeding.”

Genis has long been a lightning rod for criticism from area judges and prosecuting attorneys, and based on many such complaints, a magistrate with the California State Bar Association ordered Genis suspended from his right to practice law for a limited period. Genis has appealed that ruling, contending that county prosecutors engage in misconduct as egregious as anything alleged against him but are shielded from consequence by a double standard. Prosecutors for the State Bar Association have been equally unhappy with the verdict, contending that it’s far too lenient given the pattern and practice of Genis’s inflammatory behavior in court. Both sides have submitted arguments regarding the appeal, and a ruling remains pending.

Every time Genis opens his mouth the worse it gets for his clients. Face it he is a crappy attorney and he knows it. He got his last DUI client Morua to plead guilty and that sucked got the same sentence he would have received for murder. See you in two decades chump. But Genis was playing both sides in that case. He dropped the turd that Capps had responsibility and now his tight compadre Bob Stoll is running with it. Soon Daryl will be suspended from the bar for his jackassery. I'd you need a criminal defense attorney hire anyone but Daaaaaaaryl.

Denunzio needs to do some serious soul searching about the effect that alcohol is having on his life and the lives of his family members. Perhaps he should restrict his drinking to his home, but then maybe he does not want to show that face to his loved ones. So he goes out, gets drunk, and invariably gets caught up in some kind of conflict with police agencies. Genis is not doing his client any favors by being a blowhard. If Genis really wants to help his client, he should convince Denunzio to get some help for his alcoholism before its too late.

The writer's disdain for Denunzio's counsel is quite apparent. If the Independent wishes to post news, then perhaps their writers should keep their own sentiments separate from their written work. Readers can be bright and are able to form their own opinions of involved parties based on facts rather than tilted verbiage. I feel that Welsh used a Genis client to further berate and attack Genis. It seems to have become a hobby. Perhaps you can create a blog to share your hatred of Genis rather than use what could be news to vent? If any other attorney were acting as counsel to Denunzio, I doubt we would read anything about his counsel other than his name and firm; perhaps a few past cases or political slant.

In any case, if I were Genis, I would be very angry with this client right now. He surely told to him to stay out of trouble during the course of this suit.

Oh Herschel, I'd rather have factual news about the case itself as it relates to the defendant and plaintiff, the acts involved, the reaction of the court and jury, the actual course of events and the outcome than read one writer's biased version full of barbs just because he despises counsel to one party. That's my point. Carry on.

The facts are in the story. Two man children, Tony and Dino got so smashed at Brophy Bros that they got kicked out. They then stumbled into marina one and started trespassing on private property. When the Harbor Patrol confronted them, Tony ram away which is a bad idea if you are five or fifty. Patrol officer fell and sustained an injury. Now dumb ass DeNunzio is facing criminal charges. P.o.s. attorney Genis opened his huge pie hole on an attempt to explain the actions of one of his meal tickets errr clients. This is a good and factual story.

Denunzio is a deadbeat that can't keep out of trouble. Just like OJ, you knew he'd get his sooner or later. And just because Denunzio is wrong, it doesn't make Tudor right. Tudor screwed up. He should have handled Denunzio's arrest in a more appropriate manner. But it's also clear that Denunzio has no intentions of complying with law enforcement directives either.

If Tudor had followed his employer's policy, that is doing his job, DeNunzio would have most likely been convicted of a DUI. Too bad that the SBPD does not take their employees job effectiveness seriously . He should be fired.

The entire earlier incident involving officer Tudor was highly suspect. He was hiding, essentially "staking out" DeNunzio's car in the parking lot a Hendry's beach. When DeNunzio left the boat house restaurant Tudor quickly followed and chased him several miles drumming up the lane changes as a reason to stop him when he turned into the Loretta Plaza shopping center. Those lane changes were not illegal under the vehicle code and in looking at the dash cam video they did not appear to be unsafe. On arrival at the Gelsens' parking lot Tudor set upon DeNunzio in less than 6 seconds on the pretext he was trying to flee and resist arrest when he took two steps toward Gelsons after getting out of his vehicle, and then he and other officers responding to Tudor's claims, clearly engaged in the use of excessive force pummeling DeNunzio and injuring him. I have no love lost for DeNunzio but I have more contempt for officers who abuse their power and conjure up reasons to stop someone. There was never an investigation into why Tudor was lying in wait for DeNunzio, stopped him without probable cause and then beat him up and there should have been one to determine what was really going on and why Tudor fabricated a reason to stop him and then promptly beat him up. In retrospect, I can understand why DeNunzio might have thoughts about fleeing particularly if he had been drinking which obviously clouds his judgment badly. As far as how the Harbor Patrol officer injured himself chasing DeNunzio that too is a legal stretch, that is, that his self incurred injury is the legal responsibility of DeNunzio,

DeNunzio is going to be charged with (felony) resisting arrest? Who arrested DeNunzio and what was the charge(s) for which he was arrested prior to the time he ran? Do Harbor Patrol Officer's have powers of arrest and was either brother advised they were under arrest for public intoxication (or any other violation) before Tony ran?

All I read is that the brothers were reportedly "prowling" (a misdemeanor) and contacted by Harbor Patrol Officers. Under current law I don't believe an officer can arrest a person they believe committed a misdemeanor if the officer(s) did not observe the reported act. A "citizens arrest" by the reporting/complaining party would be required for officers to take either brother into custody for a misdemeanor offense not committed in the officer's presence.

Did the Harbor Patrol Officer know DeNunzio and was he aware of Tony DeNunzio's history with law enforcement? Why did the Harbor Patrol Officer threaten use of their taser? I can see where DeNunzio would get anxious after having his ass kicked and taser used needlessly on him in a previous encounter. Wouldn't the officers more appropriate response to Tony's (or any other citizens) question regarding the taser have been "weapons are used only when necessary" or something similar and non-threatening?

Running is likely resisting and while not condoning DeNunzio's activity I can see where this case might also have its problems.

I like the last two posts and HG's last one. I know Dino (who is a good guy) and I think this is a mountain being made out of a mole hill so that the cops/city can hope to prop up their case before they get taken to the financial cleaners. How many jackasses get booted out of Brophy's and wander around the harbor? No this was Denunzio and some are just waiting for him to @#$%$# up so they can work the character defamation angle. Better they walk around the harbor and check out new yachts he will buy with your and I's tax dollars than he jump in his car again! I also know a few Harbor patrol peeps. Don't be a dumbass and fall over trying to make your big collar Serpico. Tase him? Gee, just call the Cops for back up. Better yet, Ask him to vacate the area, and give him a drunk in public ticket if need be. I don't blame the guy for being a little leary of the SBPD. Denunzio won't win the nobel peace price but he isn't this crazed gang banging thug. He drinks poorly and has issues. Quit adding to his wealth with crappy police work.

And furthermore...1. Why is this news?2. Why is there NO/NADA/ZERO accountability on the bartenders/bar owners side of things in this town for consistently getting their clients $hitfaced when they are supposedly trained to cut people off at some point?

California addresses the responsibilities of bar owners and operators in the California Business and Professions Code sections 25602 and 25602.1.

According to 25602:

“(a) Every person who sells, furnishes, gives, or causes to be sold, furnished, or given away, any alcoholic beverage to any habitual or common drunkard or to any obviously intoxicated person is guilty of a misdemeanor.

(b) No person who sells, furnishes, gives, or causes to be sold, furnished, or given away, any alcoholic beverage pursuant to subdivision (a) of this section shall be civilly liable to any injured person or the estate of such person for injuries inflicted on that person as a result of intoxication by the consumer of such alcoholic beverage.”

Section 25602.1 carves out an exception to 25602, however, allowing liability against individuals who give alcohol to minors if the minor then causes injury or death as a result of being intoxicated.

The Responsibility of the Bartender:

While serving alcohol to an intoxicated person is a misdemeanor that can subject the offender to criminal charges, California law is unique in that it shields the bartender or bar owner from civil liability. This is a departure from the majority law in the United States related to bartender/bar-owner liability. In fact, according to Law.com, in 38 states, a business that sells alcoholic drinks or a host who serves alcohol to an intoxicated person can be held strictly liable for injuries caused by the drunken individual. In other words, if a bartender gives alcohol to an intoxicated individual and that person drives home and injures someone along the way, the bar can be held responsible.

Because California has prohibited imposing this type of liability, those who choose to serve alcohol to someone who is drunk will face only criminal consequences and will escape the obligation to pay financial damages to those injured or to the loved ones of those killed in an accident. California’s law has, therefore, removed an important deterrent to people from serving alcohol to those who are obviously drunk.

So, it appears all parties involved in the serving/consumption of alcohol can be held accountable for the actions.

To some degree ok. No bars or bar owners I have seen are pinning people down by the throat and pouring drinks down them. But as you(the server/owner) get someone more and more inebriated by serving them and making your business $$$$, their decision making is compromised. It is ironic that this is the teaching you get in the DUI class you receive at the hands of the law that busts you for poor decisions. So at what point do you(the server) cut them off? When you feel they can't make good decisions for themselves? By then isn't it already too late? When you're making just over minimum wage and completely rely on tips for your income, what is the impetus to cut them off when it will just be someone elses problem?

The Santa Barbara Police Dept. is badly in need of a citizen's watchdog panel to provide oversight of their behavior. Sometimes the SBPD are absolutely professional and jusitifed in their actions, but clearly on occasion they cross the line. In fact, every police department in the nation needs to be under the authority of the citizens in their jurisdictions. The U.S. is rapidly becoming a police state (in case you haven't noticed) and its high time for law enforcement to be brought to heel and reminded that WE pay their salaries and they serve only at our pleasure.

I second emptynewsroom's sentiment. While I despise drunk drivers (having lost several friends to them) I don't condone excessive police force used to detain an inebriated suspect, especially when force seems to be present at the beginning of the encounter rather than something that comes about as a necessary part of an escalation of an encounter.

The DA should not have a say in any excessive force complaint because there is an obvious conflict of interest. DA's reputations are based largely on their rate of conviction which often rests heavily on the witness testimony of officers. Having to decide whether to try an officer whose testimony may be needed at a later date in order to convict a defendant is obviously problematic.

Leave it up to a citizens panel or grand jury and keep the DA out of the matter.

I guess all of the local cops now have to remember that Denunzio will run from them every time he's contacted for doing stupid stuff like this while under the influence of alcohol, and that they will be held to a very high standard when it comes to using any force of any kind against him.

Maybe Genis can get Denunzio to use some of his hard-earned settlement dollars to go dry out somewhere so he doesn't do stupid stuff like this while under the influence of alcohol again.

The account of events in this story does not fit any of the many sections of the penal code (sec. 602 et.seq.) defining "tresspassing". Nor do the facts support the allegtion he was "prowling" which is covered by Penal Code sections 647 (h) and (i). If in fact DeNunzio was drunk in violation of section 647 f and so intoxicated he was unable to care for himself or others, then he may have been drunk in public, a misdemeanor. As another commentor pointed out, if he were resisting arrest then there must have been an "arrest" for some crime taking place, i.e. a misdemeanor or felony. If it was a misdemeanor the offense must have occurred or been occuring in the presence of the officer. Mere flight from an unlawful or non-existant "arrest" is likely no crime at all. The times I have been in Brophy's I have found it quite intimate or cozy as well as rather loud when it is busy. I can see where someone could be asked to leave if they were getting loud and profane in their conversations. One of the symptoms of drinking significant amounts of alcohol is that one becomes louder often without realizing it.

I know this is slightly off topic from the article since all they are using is tasers, but going off of what emptynewsroom stated this is important..I wish this article had been around after the IV riots which were instigated by police because it is quite fitting.

"Across America, Police Departments Are Quietly Preparing For War

In the past we have occasionally covered the slow (but sure) conversion of America's Police force into an army, fully loaded with the latest weapons and equipments, not even having an idea of the full extent of what was going on behind the scenes. As the NYT describes, all of the above-mentioned equipment "has been added to the armories of police departments that already look and act like military units. Police SWAT teams are now deployed tens of thousands of times each year, increasingly for routine jobs. Masked, heavily armed police officers in Louisiana raided a nightclub in 2006 as part of a liquor inspection. In Florida in 2010, officers in SWAT gear and with guns drawn carried out raids on barbershops that mostly led only to charges of “barbering without a license.”"

Loon, I know your position is usually that the evil and nefarious police are to blame for these incidents, etc., and I'm not surprised that this comment thread is going in other directions, but I think Denunzio should be taking personal responsibility for his actions. I also think enough has happened so that he should be able to recognize that he has a problem with alcohol, and I think it's time he did something about it.

Like it or not, loon, in the real world it isn't a good idea to drink and drive, nor is it a good idea to get drunk and walk around on boats that don't belong to you late at night. If you do such things you can expect to eventually have contact with law enforcement, and if you don't do as told during that contact, then you can expect a reaction to your actions.

IMO Denunzio doesn't need any more apologists to justify and/or enable his behavior. He needs to man-up and get help for his alcohol problem, and I wish him well if he does.

The moment that Tony and Dino stepped past the locked gate and walked onto the docks at marine one they were trespassing. The Harbor Patrol clearly saw them in an area where they were not supposed to be. The officers may have seen them set foot onto one of the boats. That may constitute felony trespassing. The officers had every right to confront them and question them on the suspicion of them having possibly committed a felony. When dumb ass Tony ram away he was evading a lawful command from a peace officer. During the chase the officer was injured, that is when this became a felony case. Tony will serve time for his foolish behavior.

I hope that this citiation from the City of Santa Barbara Municipal Code will satisfy the armchair lawyers out there:

"17.20.165 Unauthorized Entry to Marinas, Restrooms and Related Facilities; Prohibition, Penalty.The unauthorized transfer or use of a key card is prohibited. The entry into a locked or controlled marina, restroom or related facility without a key card and without the authorization of the Waterfront Director is prohibited. A violation of this section of the Code is an infraction. (Ord. 4757, 1992; Ord. 4133, 1982.)"

A felony trespass on a friends boat that was for sale? Hmm... I guess we will have to see how the facts shake out. Are the Marina's private property? Conversely, he probably should not have ran away from the command of the peace officer. Maybe he will pull the old "I didn't hear or see you" trick again.

Yup officers have every right to "confront" and control the situation. This doesn't mean they have to come in with the attitude guns a blazing. Does anyone really think Denunzio is packing heat? Gonna be a fighter? The guy just runs and the Cops have a bee in their bonnets for him and it ends up costing the rest of us more money. And not for a minute do I believe they didn't know exactly who they were dealing with and hoping to gain from it. Yes, that was a double negative.

It appears Denunzio is an alcoholic who is still in his disease and it iscommon when they are still drinking to do the blame game with regardto taking ownership for their actions. Until he hits his bottomand gets sober this behavior and more than likely his visits to jailwill continue. As anyone in AA will tell you, there are generally two options for alcoholics, jail and/or death.

Entering the marina without authorization is merely an "infraction?" I didn't read anyone was acting in a hostile manner against any officer. Again, why the threat by the officer to use the taser for a citeable offense?

Stepping onto someone's boat could constitute a felony, but, I believe (intent) to commit a theft or any other felony would have to be proven and it doesn't appear, based on the minimal facts identified, any officer would be able to prove intent as required for felony burglary.

I will (jokingly) guess it is not in an officer's "DNA" to just watch a subject they have contacted on a call of this type run away from them without chasing them down. Unless unidentified facts warranted, if Denunzio was identified before he ran, why not just let him run and follow-up the investigation with a request for an arrest warrant? Not so much a "DNA" issue as a serious issue related to officer training and discipline. I will guess adrenaline kicks into high gear during a foot/vehicle pursuit which I suspect is a reason that often leads to suspects getting their ass kicked once apprehended. Again, likely due to a lack of discipline on the part of the officer unless the suspect is combative.

I don't condone Denunzio's activity and I definitely don't care to see any of our officers injured. But, until additional facts are reported, it might have been better to just let Denunzio run. I suspect the injuries suffered by the officer will be considered at sentencing if Denunzio is convicted of any violation, i.e., misdemeanor delaying/obstructing an officer in the performance of their duties.

The new criminal case is pure BS (and a conflict of interest for Dudley's office as the harbor Patrol Cop (officer Stetson) is married to a high ranking District Attorney in South County) It was a set up to attempt to cut the legs out from under DeNunzio's Federal Civil Rights law suit. (Interestingly, one must ask: If DeNunzio was drunk, why didn't he trip and fall when running instead of a sober LEO who is trained in the art of foot pursuit?) Only a week earlier, Federal Court Judge George Wu ruled that Santa Barbara District Attorney Contract employee Lessor J. michaels had violated DeNunzio's 4th Amendment Rights along with Tudor and 3 other SBPD cops with his illegal blood draw. Well it didn't work, and the new charge won't stick in court either. As for those who criticize my lawyering results, consider this: the veteran (Jerry Cox) who was beat and tazered at the Trader Joe's http://www.independent.com/news/2013/... ) had Sanger and Sweesyn represent him, and his case settled last May for $30,000. DeNunzio settled for more than 4 times that amount in spite of the fact that he is a less sympathetic plaintiff than the veteran's case.

Congrats DG on your settlements. $165K is more than DeNunzio deserved. Of course, he'll get less than $100K of it himself. But I get it will keep him in drinking money for the next few years, which is all he really cares about.

I will agree with you that Tudor is a rogue cop and deserves to be kicked off the force. But Sanchez will stand behind him no matter what he does, so the taxpayers will keep paying for his antics.